Backlighting tips to add magic to your photographs

Backlighting tips to add magic to your photographs

Once you start taking photographs you begin to see how many different styles of light there is. When I first started I knew that lighting was important but I really had no idea how important or how it can either make or break a photograph. The concept of lighting is something that I couldn’t really get my head around by reading it in a book. You really need to experiment with different light sources, directions and intensities.

One type of lighting though that I am beginning to become a huge fan of is back lighting. It is something that most people try to avoid and rather have their subjects standing straight on at the sun getting them to look up at the camera on the count of three. You can hardly say they are the most flattering, natural photos. However by using backlighting you can easily get around this problem while at the same time giving the photos a lot more depth

It goes against everything we have been taught since we first got a camera in our hands but it just gives a different feeling to the photo. By having the sun directly behind your subject the camera will pick up a lot of detail that otherwise would have been lost like a wisp of stray hair caught by the wind or the shape of the leaves. Shooting the camera right into the sun is really great for thin objects as you can pick up more vivid colours or patterns in it, for example the photos of the smoke. When I took the first shots I had the light coming in from the side but I couldn’t seem to get the smoke to stand out so that I could capture it clearly enough with the camera so I moved the lamp around to the back of the candle, coming in from a low angle so that it really picked up the shapes and density of the smoke and defined the contour of the candle.

As nice as an effect as backlighting gives there are a couple of pitfalls I have learnt that can ruin a great photo. The first problem is lens flare. This is created when excess light hits the camera sensor creating shapes or circles of light on your photographs. Some people use it to create an artistic effect however most of the time it is best avoided which can easily be done by buying a lens hood or by sheltering the lens from the sun with your hand like you do for your eyes when you look into the sun. The second most common problem is the camera being tricked by how much light is going into the camera so that it underexposes the image, leaving you with nothing but a silhouette of your subject. The simple way to get around this is to set your camera to forced flash mode so that not only will the camera pick up the nice sunny background but the flash will fill in the detail on your subjects face. If you find that the flash is a little too harsh, try a reflector which can be easily made out of a piece of white cardboard.

Once I had got my head around using light in such a way I noticed a definite improvement in my photos. They are so much more interesting and have more depth and feel to them. Being able to manipulate light to your advantage is also a very valuable tool to have.

Amy is one of the team members in the Ballina store. You can see her profile here or drop in and see her and the rest of the team for advice or help.

Related posts:

1. How to place hands in your photographs
2. Using Light – The Art of Seeing
3. Silhouette Photography made easy